Monotonix singer Ami Shalev, Exhibition Hall Stage, 2:30 p.m., about three minutes

Published 7:00 am Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Monotonix singer Ami Shalev, Exhibition Hall Stage, 2:30 p.m., about three minutes before that t-shirt wound up stuffed inside those red shorts As you might already have heard, the Monotonix show got shut down by the Bumbershoot bouncers exactly 15 minutes into the set.First, singer Ami Shalev mooned the crowd. Then, he hopped down into the crowd and into the big gray garbage can on the floor, which the crowd then lifted up and gave Ami a garbage can ride. After which guitarist Yonatan Gat got up on the crowd and started shredding while crowdsurfing. That, I believe, is when the uneasy security guards decided enough was enough, turned up the lights and asked everyone to leave the venue. The crowd was ready to riot, but Ami, who is probably used to making this speech by now, pacified everyone and transformed the sea of middle fingers into a sea of fists and rawk fingers. It was the most unbelievable turning of the tide I’ve ever witnessed.This guy, whose name is David Adams Yeazel, got whacked in the face by Gat’s guitar as he was lifting him up to crowdsurf, hence the bloody mouth. He told me it was one of the better shows he’s been to. And actually, anyone who’s been to a Monotonix show before knows this is nothing new for Monotonix, who always play down on the floor with the crowd and are known for their raucous antics– they often set shit on fire during shows– but the show got shut down, I hear, because of the crowdsurfing. Bumbershoot has strict no-crowdsurfing rules. Fortunately, Monotonix will play the Comet Tavern on September 27, and the Comet, I suspect, will not be nearly so uptight.